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Saturday, March 30, 2013

Stack Rundown, 03/30/2013

So, this week saw the end of a favorite series of mine, some controversy surrounding the "M-word," and a couple of not so great issues, which make me question why I'm still reading some series... fun!

Aquaman #18

Man, some of these Atlanteans sure are dicks, mainly that Murk guy, or whatever his name is. Remember the South Park character Scott? "That's Scott, he's a dick!" Well, that's Murk. Murk is a total dick. Counting down the issues until Aquaman kicks Murk's dick ass… heh… "dick ass." Regardless! You know it's coming, and it'll be great when it happens. What else we got… Oh, police trying to arrest Mera for the stuff that happened in issue #6… not sure what game Geoff Johns is playing at, because I certainly don't give a shit, much like Mera… if it was just to get her out in the open so the Dead King could find her (which is what happened) then, I kind of question that situation entirely. It's an interesting thought, but I have little care to see "well, what if someone did press chargers against a super hero!?" It's just a "psh, whatever" for me… these are comics!

I, Vampire #18

When Fialkov said he was killing everyone, he meant it. Three characters have died in the last two issues, albeit one of them came back on the final page of this issue, but still, lots o' dying! Man, this issue makes me sad, mainly because there's only one issue left, and because of that, there isn't as much plot development as we used to see in the series… which is fair, because there's not a hell of a lot of plot left to tell, given everything is in service to the inevitable conclusion next month. There was the twist of Mary coming back, and Andrew being good again, but c'mon… who didn't see that coming? I will say that I loved Constantine in this, just saying bouncing, as soon as things get bad, so he can minimize the damage and hope for the best… so great. I said it before, and I'll say it again, I think Fialkov should have taken over Constantine when Venditti had to bow out. Anyways, good issue, hoping for a strong conclusion that this series deserves.

Justice League Dark #18

So this concluded the Death of Magic arc, and like I predicted…. well, nearly everyone predicted, Tim stayed behind in crazy magic land. Luckily though, Zatanna made it out, and I was told by Fawkes on an AMA at Reddit that we would be seeing much more of her in the future, so that's good. Anyways, this was a fun, adventurous arc, not a whole lot to write home about, but nevertheless, it was a fun read. There was a development at the end where Constantine basically tells Steve Trevor to go shove it, which I'm willing to bet plays into Trinity War eventually, but we'll have to see. As for Lemire and Fawkes' first arc being done, have to say it's pretty much a flawless mesh between those two. If I didn't know any better, I wouldn't have noticed much of a change between Lemire's solo arc and this, aside from a few tweaks to Constantine's dialogue. Definitely looking forward to Flash and Swamp Thing guest starring in the next couple of issues.

Teen Titans #18

I'm going to come out and say that this was probably one of the worst issues of the series I've read in a long while. There is just so much to not like about this issue from where I'm standing. Groan worthy dialogue, especially a real bad women in refrigerators crack, stylistically/cheesy/and filled with needless exposition thought bubbles, poorly thought out Kid Flash direction of motion in comparison to his speech bubbles, and so much more. This is just a fucking mess of an issue, quite honestly. It's like no one is even trying. It also doesn't help that I still don't think Eddy Barrows is a good fit for this title at all. Yeah, I feel like this book is up for a good overhaul. New writer would be my first concern, then potentially a new artist, and while we're at it, lets give Red Robin a better, more simple costume while we're at it. Also, when Waller says "Me and Red Robin reached an agreement" you really get reminded about just how stupid a name "Red Robin" really is.

Superman #18

Let's continue with the Lobdell theme, I didn't dislike this issue of Superman as much as I did Teen Titans, but there were still hints of just bizarre choices that were made in how to tell the story, that I just flat out didn't like. I honestly don't get Lobdell's love affair with thought bubbles. All the sudden he just started using them one month in most his books, and they come off completely random at times, while the rest are just needless explanations of what the character is doing at the moment. Take for example the one where Clark randomly just thinks something along the lines of "H'el sucked, almost lost my cousin Kara, and found out that this Superboy is a clone of me and a human" out of no where! The context was Cat Grant talking to him about starting a new website, and he just thinks that for whatever reason, it's just bizarre… Ugh, I don't know man… This was another issue from Lobdell that I just didn't dig, which is weird, because he can certainly write a great book, and Red Hood is an example of that… Then these things for future story lines just get teased with no real weight to them, like Hector Hammond… he is a character and he exists, that's about the extent of his appearance… I don't know, I like Aaron Kuder's art, but with Rocafort gone, my interest in this is rapidly declining.

The Flash #18

Brian Buccellato was flying solo on this one, as Francis Manapul is taking a two issue (and well deserved) break, and not a beat was missed. To start, I really have to say that I enjoy the new dynamic of Patty knowing Barry's secret. The little scene between them in the crime lab with Patty slyly slipping Barry some notes as he zipped around the room was pretty great. Other than that, I'm not quite sure what this little arc with the Trickster is going to play into. I was expecting a little more on the new Reverse Flash this month, seeing as he's on the cover for the next issue, but was surprised there wasn't at least another teaser at the end of the book. Instead, the H Dial zapped Barry's powers away or something. Yeah… I don't know, I tried Dial H a while ago when it first came out, and a lot like Hickman's Avengers, I just didn't comprehend it. Guess I'll be skipping that follow up. Oh well!

The Legend of Luther Strode #4

So, where this issue's story can pretty much be summed up as "one big fight between Luther and Jack the Ripper" which is cool, mind you, the shining star of this particular 20 pages was Tradd Moore's art. Moore has a really exaggerated, almost animated quality to his style, which when given a script that includes a lot of fast movement (like this one), goes crazy in all the best ways. You got people jumping every which way, limbs breaking, dudes getting stabbed in the eye, and so on… if you appreciate anything that can be labeled "over the top," you'd have a visual orgasm with this issue. The fight between Luther and Jack was as ridiculous as you might come to expect from this series, but honestly, I'm going to say this was probably my favorite issue art wise in both this series and The Strange Talent as well, it was that crazy.

Hack/Slash #25

I don't know when the last time a series I was reading regularly just ended on it's own terms. Pretty bummed out at the conclusion of this issue, but that was just because it was over, in terms of wrapping things up, I was actually surprised about how somewhat of a happy ending we actually got. Yes, Vlad died, so did Gertrude, I think… Yes, Cassie went full on Slasher, but everything sort of worked out in the end! Samhain died, Cassie was cured, then went off the grid to hopefully live a peaceful life… until that last panel where you see someone (probably her) pick up Vlad's old mask again, which I've got to say, her with the mask is a great visual. And that was that, the end of the series… I don't know if Cassie's adventures will continue after the Army of Darkness crossover, I won't lie that I wouldn't mind them to, but if this is where everything is left off in the greater Hack/Slash universe, you know… I'm fine with that. Looking back, I have no real idea as to why I picked up this series. Maybe there was a Comixology sale or something? Regardless, I'm glad I looked past the covers of it just being some girl in a bra and mini-skirt killing killers, because it's really not, it's so much more, and was really a great series through and through.

Uncanny Avengers #5

Sooooooo, this issue was a bit "controversial" lets say, as Havok told the world he no longer wanted to be called a "mutant" due to it being discriminatory. The "M-Word" as he put it… Then some people lost their shit, and I… I really could give a shit less. Unless it's something completely offensive like lets say a book glorifying Hitler, or something equally as terrible, I'm just not going to get all up in arms about a comic. I understand what Remender was trying to say, and it came from a good place, but I just can't bring myself to care about all the people who claim it was him saying that people shouldn't be proud to be black/gay/etc. Moving past that, I will say I really liked this issue, probably more so than the first four, just because the team really seems to be getting together now, with some new members, some dangling threads from UXF got brought back into the fold, and to be honest, the art was much more to my liking. In a world where Hickman's Avengers leaves me feeling like I'm stupid, I really hope this book keeps going where I think it's going, because then I'll have a semi Avengers book that I can really enjoy.

FF #5

So, this is another book that's falling in the same Marvel pitfall as a lot of the stuff I'm reading… My attention just can't be maintained for stuff that doesn't begin with "X." Even if I like the stylistic qualities of a title such as this, there's part of me that just can't get invested in all these characters, where as something like Hawkeye and Thor: God of Thunder are much more simple and straight forward titles, which have a very limited number of characters for me to keep track of. Ask me any of the names of the like 15 or so kids in this book, I can't name one. I have no idea what Medusa's back story is, or why she's being weird, don't know what that other kid is doing apparently going to Dr. Doom's country, so on and so on. Don't get me wrong, it's an entertaining book, and I love the vibe it has going on, but I can't fake an investment in it that I'm not obtaining after five or so issues. I figure I'll give it another one or two issues and see if it manages to hook me, but if not, at least I can say I tried. Still a great book, and my feelings about it shouldn't dissuade anyone on the fence.

Uncanny X-Force #3

So, here's what I can figure out about Bishop in this book… He was in the future, then he came back, and went "Rar, I'm a bear." then started growling at everyone. Seems legit to me! Anyways, this book remains pretty fun, and offered little tidbits of backstory for some of the characters involved, which I, as a fairly new Marvel reader, enjoyed, and welcomed in the case of Spiral and Storm who I've barely read any of. Anyways, here we've got Bishop after another kid, which is what he does when he's not acting like a bear, and the not-X-force trying to stop him. Meanwhile, Fantomex and Cluster are both looking for Betsy, and the Dark Fantomex is after them too, and man I can't wait for that shit show to erupt into a weird awkward situation. So yeah! Still a really fun book.

2 comments
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The more I think about it, the more I really hated Suicide Squad #18 because I want to see Kurt Lance in Teen Titans, not in Suicide Squad. But yeah, this issue of Teen Titans really did suck, the only beacon of hope is the Tim going Evil storyline, but this issue really didn't deliver that well on that end.

i dont mind the name Red Robin as a name.. it keeps Tim with the Robin name, and Lobdell has to go! but the best part of this issue is the Requiem.. the rest meh.. but it's the only book with Tim, so it's in my pull list every month.. until he gets his own book again. the costume is growing on me, i would like to see the old costume with the domino mask.... but what do ya do